While I was slinking around just after dark on the final evening of October, I couldn’t help observing that Halloween on Main Street is probably the best chance for long-lost friends (fiends?) to reacquaint, even more so than the Labor Day Parade. That’s because most people just stake out a place and sit when they come to see the parade.

But with the thousands of moving, costumed characters that populate the center of town on October 31, there were loads of folks paying visits to friends they apparently hadn’t seen in awhile. Every few minutes, shouts of glee would erupt followed by hugs and kisses as old friends greeted one another — usually as their children swept armloads of candy into treat bags. I even saw a few people who recognize long-lost friends that were dressed in masks and full costume — a special talent most of the folks on Main Street display every Halloween.

I know Town Clerk Cindy Simon has been working long hours in the run-up to Election Day, and she’s probably a little tired. But I didn’t know she was this tired!

This very little Mini Cooper with a very large can of Red Bull energy drink was seen parked in Cindy’s parking space at Edmond Town Hall last week. I hope she gets a little rest after the votes are counted on Tuesday.

Earlier in the week, most of the chatter around Edmond Town Hall revolved around the new coat of paint that was applied to the first floor ladies’ room over last weekend. Several members of the town hall staff were eager to show off the new decor, even though few of the gentlemen, including First Selectman Herb Rosenthal, were interested in giving it more than just a cursory glance.

I went to the Fifth Annual Newtown Hooked Rug Show at Reed Intermediate School last Saturday in what seemed like hurricane conditions. Although there was torrential rain and high winds, it was well worth the trip. Several hundred people attended to admire the careful work of rug hookers, who fashion various colorful designs in wool. For a cat who knows next to nothing about fabrics, but who loves a warm place to curl up, it was purrrrrrfectly fabulous.

It seems that the long-planned installation of new traffic signals near the Ram Pasture will soon be complete. The new signals will regulate traffic flow at the busy intersection of Main Street, Glover Avenue, South Main Street, and Sugar Street. What is now a two-phase signalized intersection will become a three-phase intersection, with separate green-signal phases for Sugar Street, Glover Avenue, and Main/South Main. The project is intended to improve traffic safety.

While driving on South Main Street this week, I was startled to see that an area that used to be covered in brush and trees had been cleared of vegetation for the construction of a new shopping center known as Plaza South. The site is near the intersection of South Main Street and Cold Spring Road, across from Button Shop Road. Planning for the project has long been underway. Plaza South will contain multiple small retail shops and a bank.

I like Gayle O’Neill’s approach to anniversaries: every one’s a big one. Even though 22 isn’t a nice round number, she is pulling out all the stops at Gayle O’Neill Fire Jewelry in the Southbury Green shopping center in Southbury in November 11 and 12 for the store’s 22nd anniversary with champagne, live music, and a raffle for an antique diamond ring. Why hold back? What could be better than a 22nd anniversary, unless it’s a 23rd anniversary.

During Monday evening’s meeting, Board of Finance members were discussing the possibility of a joint meeting with the Board of Education. It’s no secret that relations between the finance and school board have occasionally been prickly. So when the suggestion to hold the joint meeting on November 8 was tendered, Councilman Joe Borst, who was in the audience, reminded the officials that a Parent Connection workshop on bullying prevention was being held the same evening. It was at that moment First Selectman Herb Rosenthal joked that maybe the Board of Finance would get along better with the Board of Education if members attended the bullying workshop instead.

By the way, Joe and Barbara Borst recently returned from an enjoyable sojourn in Rome, Italy. It’s good to have them back in town.

I’m feeling a little wistful at news of the passing of the iconic Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach – not so much because I’m a big fan of the Celtics. It’s because I was a big fan of the late Art Spector, who played for the Celtics and Red Auerbach many years before he came to Newtown and served for such a long time on the Planning and Zoning Commission. Sure, I’ll miss Red like so many other people, but I miss Arthur a lot more.

After a weeklong moment of silence, please be sure to…

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